Article-holder



J. F. FORD.

ARTICLE HOLDER wcmou FILED. MAY 31. 1917.

1 ,309, 1 25 Patented July 8, 191%,,

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JOHN FLETCHER FORD, OELOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ARTICLE-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1919.

Application filed May 31, 1917. Serial No. 171,903.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN FLETCHER FORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Article- Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in article holders, and has particular relation to devices adapted to hold articles having handles, like brooms, clusters, mops, or the like, and is arranged to support the said articles in suspended position on the wall, door jamb or any desired place.

It is an'object of the invention to provide a holder having wedging walls and a rolling member mounted therein, adapted to receive the handle of the broom or other article, and wedge the same in place.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a holder having a handle engaging wall, a. roller or disk adapted to hold the-said handle against the said wall, the holder also having a wall set at an angle to the said handle, whereby the roller or disk is forced nit-o engagement. with the handle as the weight thereof tends to lower the parts between the walls of the holder.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an article holder having converging walls, a gripping roller or disk mounted be: tween them, the front wall of the device being arranged to afford an inlet opening from the side of the device for the introduction of a broom handle or other article at any point along its length. g

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a holder of a single piece of metal, bent to form converging edge walls and a partial front wall, said metal having struck up portions in the rear wall thereof, for preventing the escape of the roller or disk of the device, and to tend to throw it normally behind the partial front wall, whereby the roller is adapted to receive the handle of the article from the front, at all times. With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises certain novel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed. 1

' In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an article holder like that contemplated in this inven-] tion, and having a portion of a broom handle gripped therein.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the holder. Fig. 3 is a central horizontal sectional view through the said device, looking toward the lower gripping disk.

The device of the present invention is deslgnedto afl'ord an economical and yet e;- fective device for suspending and conven iently holding brooms, dusters, mops, or other articles when not being used. The C161 tails and features of the invention will now be more specifically described, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which 1 represents a holder having a back wall from which extend forwardly, projecting edge walls 2 and 3. An inwardly extending front wall 4 projects from the front edge of the wall 2 a slight distance beyond the central portion a little more than half way.

' across the front of the device leaving an ample opening at the front for the insertion of the handle of the article. In a recess formed by said front wall 4, a gripping roller or disk 5. is mounted, and the walls 2 and 3 converge sufiiciently toward'the bottom' of the device to cause the roller to grip and firmly. hold the handle of the broom, or other article which is inserted between the said roller and the wall 3. The action of the parts is awedging one, the weight of the article tending to crowd the roller, as the parts approach the lower end of the device. The opening at the front may be of a proper size to receive article handles of different sizes, and the elongated wedging wall'2 will cause the roller to bite said articles at any point in the length of the device, according to the size of the said handle. In order to cause the roller or disk toalways fallinto the recess behind the fron'twall 4 and thus leave the entrance opening ready to receive the handle of the article,detents or projections 6 and 7 are provided near the lower end of the device in the back wall thereof,

so that when the roller descends after re'- moving the handle of the article, it will be thrown intothe recess behind the wall 4 by the detents 6, and be prevented from drop ping out through the open bottom of the device by theprojection '7. If desired, an ad- :iitional projection 8a little above the pro-' jection 6. may be used for further insuring the rolling of the disk 5-over into the recess.

A detent or projection 9 struck up from the back of the device near the top prevents the roller from falling out the upper end of the device when the device is not in use, and is beingcarried about. A hole in the back is preferably employed to receive a suspending nail l0, and by setting said hole a little nearer to the wall 3 than to the wall the device will normally hang a little to one side so as to further end to throw the roller into its proper recess. When the device is to be put into use, it is suspended to a wall, door jamb, molding, or any other desired place by driving the nail 10 through the opening in the back wall of the device. It is only was sary then to insert the handle of the article in the front opening, and lift the same slightly to elevate the roller and cause it to recede when the article may be released, the weight of the same causing the roller or disk to jam between the handle in the wall 2 and grip the device in suspending position. To remove the article, it is only necessary to lift the handle slightly sufficiently to loosen the roller, when the said handle can-be taken out of the front of the device.

In this connection it will be observed that it is not necessary to insert the end of the handle through the bottom of the device, but that the said handle can be put in place within the holder at any point along its length; For this reason also, the holder can be suspended at any convenient height above the floor. The device can be made in a very economical manner, the housing part being struck from a single piece of material and bent and shaped to form the converging edge walls and the front and back walls. The projections or detents for controlling the roller may be struck from the metal at the time that the device is made, though of course, any other Way for providing such projections and securing them to the walls of the device, may be employed within the spirit of the invention.

It will be noted that if the detents or projections 6, 7 and 8 are bent outwardly from the back aS shown in Fig. 3, they will not engage or interfere in any Way with the insert-ion of the broom handle or other article.

By making the outer edge of the roller or disk beveled or rounded as at 11, the broom handle or other device can be more easily inserted in placing it within the holder. Also by thus beveling the roller, a smaller roller .can be used without making it difficult to insert the broom, than if the said roller was not beveled.

What is claimed is:

A device of the character referred to formed of sheet metal having one side thereof bent forwardly to form a side wall and having its other side bent forwardly and laterally parallel with its main portion, whereby to form back, side and front walls. said front wall being of less width than said device, whereby to fbrm an article-receiving opening between its edge and the side Wall, and'a holding disk loosely mounted in said article between said back and front Walls, said back wall having struck-in holding prongs adapted to movably confine said holding disk within said article and to one side thereof, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN FLETCHER FORD. 

